The Democratic Union of the Greek Minority – OMONOIA (), better known by its short name Omonoia ( el, Ομόνοια, lit=Concord / Peace, links=no), is a social, political and cultural organization in
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
that promotes minority rights for the
Greek minority in the south of the country.
Structure
Omonoia has four affiliates in the cities of
Sarandë,
Delvinë,
Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea le ...
and
Tirana
Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
, and some sub-sections in
Korçë
Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau some ...
,
Vlorë
Vlorë ( , ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foothi ...
and
Përmet. Its leading forum is the General Council consisting of 45 members, it is elected by the General Conference and held every two years.
History
The organisation was founded in 1991, after the collapse of the
PPSh regime
In politics, a regime (also "régime") is the form of government or the set of rules, cultural or social norms, etc. that regulate the operation of a government or institution and its interactions with society. According to Yale professor Juan Jo ...
, in the village of
Derviçan
Derviçan ( sq-definite, Derviçani; gr, Δερβιτσάνη, ''Dervitsani'', also known as Dervician) is a settlement in the former Dropull i Poshtëm municipality, Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it b ...
, by representatives of the Greek national minority. It called for the autonomy of
Northern Epirus in 1991 on the basis that the rights provided for the minority under the Albanian constitution were highly precarious. This proposal was rejected and thereby spurred the organization's radical wing to 'call for Union with Greece'.
[Working Paper. Albanian Series. Gender Ethnicity and Landed Property in Albania.](_blank)
Sussana Lastaria-Cornhiel, Rachel Wheeler. September 1998. Land Tenure Center. University of Wisconsin.
Under the name "Democratic Union of the Greek Minority", Omonoia contested the
Constituent Assembly elections in March and April 1991, the first multi-party elections held since
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Despite receiving just 0.7% of the vote, Omonoia won five seats in the 250-seat Assembly. However, it did not contest any subsequent elections. Omonoia was banned from contesting the
1992 elections on the grounds that it violated an Albanian law forbidding the 'formation of parties on a religious, ethnic and regional basis'. This situation was contested during the following elections on behalf of Omonoia by the
Unity for Human Rights Party - a party which represents the Greek minority in the Albanian parliament.
Trial of the five
In late August 1994, when an Albanian court sentenced five members (a sixth member was added later) of Omonoia to prison terms of 6–8 years on charges of treason, because they demanded that Northern Epirus be granted to Greece, and for illegal carrying of arms. Greece responded by freezing all EU aid to Albania, sealing its border with Albania, and between August–November 1994, expelling
over 115,000 illegal
Albanian immigrants, a figure quoted in the US Department of State Human Rights Report and given to the American authorities by their Greek counterpart. In December 1994, however, Greece began to permit limited EU aid to Albania, while Albania released two of the Omonoia defendants and reduced the sentences of the remaining four.
Their arrest was substantially marred by procedural shortcomings in the search of their homes and offices, their detention and their trial. None of the arrestees had access to
legal counsel during their initial detention. Four of the five ethnic Greek members of Omonoia stated that, during their detention, authorities subjected them to physical and psychological pressure, including beatings, sleep deprivation, and threats of torture. The Albanian Government rejected these claims. The five ethnic Greeks also complained of lack of access to their families during the first 3 months of their 4-month investigation. During their trial, a demonstration by a group of about 100 Greek lawyers, journalists, and ethnic Greek citizens of Albania took place outside the courthouse. The
Albanian Police
The Albanian State Police ( sq, Policia e Shtetit) is the national police and law enforcement agency which operates throughout the Republic of Albania. The collapse of the Communist system and the establishment of political pluralism post-1991 ...
broke up the protest and detained about 20 lawyers and journalists. The members of Omonoia were eventually sentenced to 6- to 8-year terms, which were subsequently reduced on appeal.
Political motivated kidnappings
In June 1997 two political motivated kidnappings were reported of relatives of Omonoia members. One of them was the father of the Albanian opposition candidate, who has been required to withdraw her candidacy from the upcoming general elections. The second was the son-in-law of a former Omonoia chairman.
Protests against irregularities in the 2011 census
In early October 2011, the Albanian government announced that a census will be conducted throughout the country which will count the exact size of ethnic minorities for the first time after 1989.
However, after proposal of the nationalist oriented PDIU, the Albanian government will fine $1,000 every citizen that will declare an ethnicity other than what was written down on his or her birth certificate, even if this certificate was written during the era of the pre-1989 communist regime were minority status was limited to only 99 villages. Omonoia responded that such a procedure contains serious irregularities and will absent in case these issues are not resolved.
This is believed to be an attempt to intimidate minorities into declaring Albanian ethnicity, as the Albanian government has furthermore additionally declared that it will prosecute anyone who does not participate in the census or refuse to declare his or her ethnicity.
Due to the irregularities in the census procedure, Omonoia representatives conducted another census in order to count the members of the ethnic Greek minority. According to this a total of 286,852 individuals were counted, which equals to ca. 10% of the population of the country. During the time the census was conducted, half of this number resided permanently in Greece, but maintained strong contacts with its homeland.
Prison sentence to Korce branch leader
In January 2012 the leader of the Korce branch of Omonoia, Naum Disho ( el, Ναούμ Δίσιος ''Naoum Disios''), was sentenced to prison for constructing a memorial for the fallen Greek soldiers of the Greco-Italian War
The Greco-Italian War (Greek language, Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdom ...
in Boboshticë
Boboshticë ( rup, Bubushtitsa; bg, Бобощица, ''Boboshtitsa''; mk, Бобоштица, ''Boboštica'') is a village in the former Drenovë Municipality of the Korçë County in southeastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it ...
, due to accusations of desecrating ethnic Albanian graves, however his sentence was overturned.
References
{{Authority control
1991 establishments in Albania
Cultural organizations based in Albania
Organizations established in 1991
Members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
Albanian people of Greek descent
Political parties of minorities in Albania